I've Got It All
by Shiny Jewel
Summary: Post Series-ish as this picks up right after the Lions win state and before the 8 month flash forward. Appearances by: Eric & Tami Taylor, Landry, Tyra, Shelley and additional FNL characters TBD.
1. Chapter 1

**I've Got it All**

Julie looked at Matt and giggled as the East Dillon Lions broke out into some silly celebratory dance on the field. Her dad was beaming from ear to ear, the proudest and happiest she had ever seen him after a win, and there had been many of them over the years.

"I'm going to go congratulate the team y'all!" Tami exclaimed, her eyes shining.

Julie watched intently as she ran off, hustling through the crowd that was just starting to thin out of the stadium and jumped into Eric's arms at full force, planting a celebratory kiss on his lips. It used to totally gross her out when her parents would show affection in front of her (especially in public) but now she couldn't help but look on and hope that she and Matt would be that happy 20 years from now.

Matt swung Julie around to face him, that famous crooked smile spreading across his face.

"I think this is the first time that you and I actually get to spend the night in a hotel room together after a state game,"" he drawled, his voice low and raspy.

Julie giggled nuzzling her head into the crook of his arm.

"Um, you might not want to lead with that line when we see my dad."

Matt grinned. "One of these days, probably a very long time from now, there will come a time when your dad doesn't scare the living crap out of me."

Julie grabbed Matt's hand and they started heading down the steps of the stadium, the celebration still in full swing on the field. She looked into his eyes mischievously.

"Let's go congratulate the champ and then maybe we can sneak away for the night."

Later that night, after the celebrations had thinned out, Julie came out of the hotel bathroom rubbing her wet hair with a towel, wearing one of Matt's worn in Dillon Panther t-shirts. She gazed over at him on the bed, shirtless, just a pair of boxers on, his sketchbook on propped up on his lap, his brow arched deep in concentration. She smirked to herself thinking of how impressed she was that Matt still hadn't lost those rock hard abs, even though he was strolling the floors of an art gallery every day instead of playing football and hitting the weights.

She looked down at her ring still in disbelief over the events that had transpired over the last few days. That long, miserable ride from Chicago back to Burleson, just a few months ago, was still fresh in her mind. The unsettled feeling of leaving him, not knowing what the future held for them had sat like a brick in her stomach, all the way back to school and really never stopped as much as she tried to distract herself with schoolwork and new friends.

She had been doing some thinking ever since the talk she had with her parents after their "conversation dinner" and knew that in order to get her parents completely a hundred percent on board with their engagement they were going to need some sort of strategy. Given their age and the fact that they had spent more time in past year apart than together, a long engagement was probably the smartest route to go, and would show everyone, most importantly her parents, that they were being mature and not rushing into anything.

Julie slid into bed next to Matt and lied on her side to face him. He placed his sketchbook on the floor, sensing she wanted to talk.

"I still have a semester to finish up at Burleson, but after that's over in May, I'm thinking that it would probably be a good time to move to Chicago" she said, glancing at him pensively twisting a strand of wet hair around her finger.

Matt's entire face lit up as he pulled her into his arms.

"Jules-it's going to be amazing to have you there with me. You're going to love it so much."

She traced a straight line with her fingertip up and down his arm and smiled, looking up at him.

"How did we get so lucky?" Julie asked, her eyes dropping shut, snuggling up against him.

Matt grinned and held her tight as they drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a little over five months after the Lions had won state, and the entire Taylor family was really leaving Texas. Julie didn't even truly believe it herself until her mom had called her one random Tuesday evening a few months earlier while she was up at school and told her that they had officially closed on a house in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

She sounded really excited about all the details, which included a huge yard for Gracie Belle, a wraparound porch and the "his and hers"" closets that she had been going on about for years.

Julie was excited too. In only a couple of days, she was going to head home to Dillon, pack up her bedroom, and start her new life with Matt in Chicago. That was, if she survived the 20 hour long voyage in a car alone with her parents. They had insisted on leaving Gracie with Aunt Shelley in Dallas and driving up there with her to move her in, despite her pleading and begging otherwise.

The real reason, Julie knew, was so her dad had an excuse to pull his papa bear intimidation routine on Matt one final time before distance kept him far enough away to not be able do it on a daily basis like he used to when they were dating in high school.

When Julie had told Matt on the phone earlier that week that her parents would be accompanying her to Chicago, she couldn't help but giggle at his silence on the other end of the line.

"You there?" she asked, smirking and tossing a pile of neatly folded shirts into the open suitcase on top of her bed.

""Uh...Uh…yea…I'm…I'm here,"" he responded nervously.

Uh oh, she thought. The stutter. As Matt had gotten older, more confident, more mature and created a life for himself that he could be proud of, the stutter for the most part was non-existent. Except for when it came to her dad. Then it emerged back full force.

"It's going to be fine Matty," she said reassuringly. "Really, you should feel sorry for me, the one who is going to be having a fun family time in the backseat for countless hours of torture."

Matt's lips started to crinkle into a smile at the thought of a Taylor family road trip..

At the end of the conversation he was still feeling a little nervous but quickly accepted the fate that likely an epic ""Matt chat"" was headed his way.

A couple of days later, Julie pulled her car into the driveway of the soon to be former Taylor home. She turned the ignition off and paused for a minute, getting a little nostalgic, thinking about all the amazing memories she had, not only inside their home, but right outside too. Her dad teaching her how to throw a spiral out in the street while her mom stood in the doorway and looked on, grinning. Helping Gracie take her first steps in the front yard. Sitting in the driveway the morning after she and Matt spent the night together for the first time, just gazing at each other, not wanting to go inside.

She took a deep breath and jumped out of the car.

"I'm home!" She yelled as loud as she could as she bounded for the front door.


	3. Chapter 3

"Dad, obviously I appreciate the gesture, but you guys really don't have to drive all the way to Chicago with me," Julie offered from her spot on the living room floor where she was playing barbies with Gracie.

Eric looked up from the paper he was reading on his recliner and raised his eyebrows.

"Are you sure you still want to major in English Jules?" he asked, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"I think so, why?"

"Because if you ask me, pre-law is the way to go. You'd give one hell of a cross-examination."

Julie rolled her eyes as hard as she possibly could, a move she had definitely perfected over the years and started furiously brushing Malibu Barbie's hair.

"I'm serious. I'm 18 years old. I can handle packing up a U-Haul trailer and drive a couple hundred miles."

"It's not about handling anything. Your mother and myself would like to see where you're going to be living, not to mention spend some time with you before we're not just a car ride away from each other anymore."

"It's not like you guys can't visit!" Julie exclaimed throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"Maybe I want to spend some quality time with my future son-in law."

"What so you can torture him?"

"Come on Julie. When I have ever tortured him?"

Now it was Julie's turn to look amused. "Are you being serious right now?"

Eric laughed. "What?"

"You enjoy intimidating him…admit it!"

Before Eric could respond, Tami came breezing through the front door, her arms full of grocery bags.

"Hey y'all!" she called out from the hallway.

"Gotta help your mom," he said, scrambling to get up.

Julie shook her head. There was no way she was going to win this argument, even with her skills of persistence and persuasion.

To make matters worse, it had been over a month since she and Matt had seen each other and all she could think about lately was sex. Her first night home, she called him from inside her bedroom closet after everyone was asleep so they could talk dirty to each other. She was hoping to spend her first few hours in Chicago in bed naked with her fiancé, but instead, she would probably be spending it entertaining her parents.

"What are y'all talking about?" Tami asked opening the fridge door to toss in some of the groceries lying out on the counter.

"I was just telling dad that it really isn't necessary for you guys to inconvenience yourself with an unnecessary trip help me move in to Matt's," Julie said quietly looking down at the floor, already knowing what her mom's response was going to be.

"Come on sugar. You know it's no trouble at all," Tami stated her eyes mischievously sparkling. "In fact, dear daughter, it's going to be our pleasure."

As if right on cue, Eric pulled a stack of CD's from the top of the fridge. "I almost forgot to tell you. I've got Coach Taylor's greatest hits right here. All the radio broadcasts from the best games of my career. Should definitely get us through at least the first 6 hours of the trip."


	4. Chapter 4

"Do you really need to keep this?" Tami asked Julie holding up a hot pink feathered boa.

"Of course I do mom! Don't you remember? That was part of my costume from my first dance show at Dillon High."

Julie smiled at the memory, grabbed the boa out of her mother's outstretched hand and wrapped it around her neck several times.

Tami couldn't help but laugh to herself. Her daughter had no idea what life was going to be like living with a man. Julie had grown up most of her life as an only child with her own bedroom that she could decorate and do what she pleased with, including storming off and slamming the door when her parents pissed her off. It was a personal space she could hide out in and she wasn't going to have that luxury in Matt's studio loft in Chicago. Despite how high the ceilings were and how big of a place it was, there was going to be no escaping each other for the most part. She would no doubt learn that really quickly, likely right around the time of their first fight about decorating the apartment.

She remembered the first argument her and Eric had gotten into the day they moved in together. She was obsessed with making the small house they were renting look as nice as possible and Eric had thrown a wrench in that plan by insisting that they put his beat up old recliner chair right in the middle of the living room. Tami begged him to give it to the Salvation Army as it was beyond ratty, the fabric all pilled and stained, but he refused. They had a standoff about it which ended up with Tami in tears threatening not to sleep with him until he got rid of it, and Eric finally giving in and taking the chair to the dump in a huff. For the record, he still didn't get laid that night.

Tami unraveled the boa from around Julie's neck. "How about we keep this memento in a closet in our guest room in Philadelphia? I definitely think it's important that you make Matt's apartment your home also, but maybe not with a hot pink feather boa."

Julie sighed and sat down on the bed. "You're probably right. I'm going to have to draw the line though and ask him to take down some of those creepy hand sketches."

"I think that's a reasonable request," Tami agreed smiling.

She cleared off some space and sat down on the bed next to Julie.

"I can't believe you're my almost grown girl, going off to experience life in a big city."

Julie looked up at her mom gratefully.

"Thank you for trusting me to make this decision. I know I haven't really given you or dad a reason to believe in me much this past year."

Tami shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I want you to know that your father and I ALWAYS believe in you, no matter what. You're going to make a lot of mistakes over the years, and likely we probably won't always agree with your decisions, but you are our smart beautiful girl and we're proud of you."

Tami pulled Julie into a tight hug and they just sat there together, taking each other in, like they had so many times before, during these heart to heart talks.

A few hours later, and unable to sleep, Julie wandered into the living room expecting to find it empty, but saw her dad sitting on the couch with his feet up on the coffee table watching some game tape on mute. He looked up when he heard her footsteps.

"Hey Kiddo, what are you doing up?"

"I don't know…I've been trying to sleep for hours but I'm just not really tired."

Eric's eyes darted toward the garage door and Julie knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Beat you again!" Julie squealed holding her ping pong paddle above her head in a victorious pose.

"Best out of 7?" Eric proposed grinning across the table.

"If you want to continue to get your butt whopped, then you're on."

"No, you're on!" he leaned on the table, pausing to catch his breath.

"Come on, old man," she teased, adjusting the waistband of her sweatpants, waiting for his next serve.

"I'm going to miss this."

"Oh dad, don't get all gushy on me, that's mom's job, which she did very well earlier this evening."

"I'm serious. We'll never get to do this again, in this house."

Julie put her paddle down and plopped down on top of a stray box sitting in the middle of the garage.

"Remember the first time we ever played?" she asked.

"How could I forget? It was at our old house in Macedonia and you could barely see over the table but you wanted to play with your old dad so bad, your mom got a step stool. In fact, I think she even snapped a picture of it."

Julie tapped her hand on the table. "I was better at ping pong than you then, and I'm better than you now,"

"Is that so little lady?"

Eric wound up and pounded his next serve.


	5. Chapter 5

Eric reached for the radio dial and a familiar sound came blaring out of the speakers.

_**It's Slammin' Sammy Meade. Who wants to start talking?**_

Julie and Tami groaned in unison.

"Dad, there is NO way we're listening to that," Julie protested from the back seat.

Tami nodded in agreement. "Come on hon, stress in a bottle remember?"

Eric glanced over at his wife with a smug look on his face. "I'm no longer a football coach in Dillon. In fact, now I can officially be amused by the ramblings of that idiot."

Julie snorted. "Amused? Yea, okay." She grabbed a CD case from inside her purse and leaned forward in between the front seats to insert a disc into the CD player.

"I made us a driving music mix last night. I figured I'd wait until we really needed it, and not surprisingly that took all of 15 minutes into the trip. "

It was Eric's turn to groan thinking he was in for hours of indie rock until the first strains of _Black Betty_ filled the car and his mouth began to twitch into a full on grin. His favorite song.

It was a few hours into their ride and Julie had to admit, she was actually enjoying this alone time with her parents. It had been years since it was just the three of them in the car together laughing and joking. Usually long road trips were reserved for traveling to State or away games, and even then it had usually just been her and her mom. Any other long car rides since Gracie had been born usually involved whoever wasn't driving focused on making sure she was well entertained. It had actually been pretty nice so far minus one kind of nauseating revelation. As they drove by the lake she heard her dad mumble something to her mom about "coming back and having a little fun for old time's sake" before they left Texas for good. The thought that her parents had sex in the same place that she lost her virginity to Matt (let alone the thought of them doing it period) made her want to throw up a little bit but kind of made her laugh at the same time.

Hour eight and Julie offered to take the wheel so her dad could have a break. When he finally dozed off in the back seat Tami looked conspiratorially at her daughter and whispered, "I think there's a really good outlet mall off the next exit of the highway. I saw a sign five minutes ago."

Julie burst out laughing and then covered her mouth. "I'd love to but what are we going to do? Just leave dad sleeping in the backseat of the car while we go shopping?"

Tami shrugged her shoulders. "Why the heck not? He looked pretty tired. I think we've got a least an hour or two."

Julie pulled into the parking lot and she and her mom hopped out of the car giggling as they looked at an unsuspecting (and unconscious) Eric, happily in his 7th dream.

An hour later, Julie held up a black dress up against her body as Tami browsed through a rack of clothes right next to her.

"What do you think mom?"

"I like it Jules, but we should probably wrap it up and get back to the car pretty soon," Tami said glancing at her watch.

As if on cue, they both looked out the store window and saw a confused and disoriented Eric Taylor wandering through the parking lot, his hair sticking up all over the place as if to say, _what the hell is going on here_? Tami's cell phone began to ring and Julie looked at her mom. Busted. Needless to say they were back on the road immediately.

"Are you two insane?" Eric shouted.

Julie hid her face in his shirt sleeve which was all she could do to stop herself from breaking out into hysterical laugher.

"You looked so peaceful babe," Tami reasoned staring straight ahead from behind her aviator shades.

"So you just decide to leave me sleeping in a car and go off on a shopping excursion? I thought something horrible happened to you two!" he exclaimed.

Tami looked at his worried face remorsefully. "I'm sorry sugar. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"It always does with you women, doesn't it?" he mused to himself.


	6. Chapter 6

After what seemed like endless hours of driving (and stopping off to spend the night in a hotel) the Taylors finally arrived in Chicago. Julie had wanted to jump into Matt's arms and kiss him senseless when he opened the door, but she knew it would make for an extremely uncomfortable situation if she did that in front of her father, so she settled for a somewhat modest but "to be continued" lingering peck on the lips.

Tami greeted Matt as per usual with a warm hug and a "Hi Matt, how are you?" in her sweet Texas drawl. She walked around the apartment, her cowboy boots thumping loudly against the hardwood floors as she marveled at the exposed brick walls and the super high ceilings.

Eric peered at Matt with his daddy Darth Vader eyes over the large box of Julie's belongings he was carrying. He set it on the floor and reached out to shake Matt's hand. Matt accepted the handshake eyeing him cautiously. He had no idea what it was exactly about this man that always made him feel like a five year old kid who was up to no good. Coach Taylor was a man of limited words but he usually didn't need them as his facial expressions were very good at communicating them for him.

"This is a pretty nice apartment for a student," Eric said looking around the place. He didn't know a ton about rents in Chicago but he assumed this place had to be a pretty penny given the location and the size of it.

Matt looked down at the floor and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yes sir."

"You must be making some pretty good money at that art gallery, eh?"

"Dad…." Julie sighed from across the apartment where she was showing her mom some of Matt's latest artwork. "That's really none of your business…"

"That's ok," Matt interrupted. "Actually, the reason I was able to afford this place when I first came out here was because of the life insurance settlement we got when my dad died. It set me up to pay for school too without having to take out any loans. So I guess….that's good," he said quietly.

Eric immediately felt terrible as both his wife and daughter shot him a death glare. While he felt like giving the kid a hard time was his god given right as a father, he definitely hadn't meant to make Matt think about his father's death.

He glanced down at his watch and then looked back up at Matt.

"We've got some time until we can check in to our hotel. I could really use a beer and some food. Why don't we leave the girls here and go grab some lunch?"

"There's a pub up the street that's pretty good," Matt offered.

Eric nodded and called over to Tami and Julie who were completely absorbed in the process of unpacking Julie's things.

"We'll be back in a bit, a'ight?"

Julie looked over at Matt expectantly, her eyes saying, _is that okay_? He gave her a quick nod and she turned back to what she was doing. As they walked down the stairs Eric clapped his hand on Matt's shoulder with a smirk. "Say goodbye to your bachelor pad son."

The pub was pretty crowded as it was prime lunch time so they decided to sit at the bar. Eric took a long swig of his longneck bottle of beer. Matt shifted uncomfortably on his bar stool and picked at the fries on his plate. It was rare he and Coach were alone together and he could only anticipate the speech he was about to get.

"Coach," he started. "I…I know you're not thrilled about Julie and I being engaged so young. But I just want you to know…."

"Saracen," Eric put his beer bottle down on the bar. "Stop right there."

Matt went silent. He'd been down this road before.

"Julie is my daughter. She's my smart, beautiful and sensitive daughter. She's also someone who has been pretty impulsive as of late." He stopped for a moment and took another swig of his beer. "So you can imagine, when, after her shenanigans, and not even knowing you two were in touch, how caught off guard I was when you showed up in my office and asked if you could marry her."

Matt nodded, thinking back to the moment Julie said yes and then insisted he ask her dad and how he went from the happiest man alive to "dead man walking" as Landry would say.

"However…it wasn't fair to react to you the way that I did. This isn't an excuse but I was under a lot of stress and you really had some bad timing. As a father you always want your kids to have the best life possible, and I have no doubt that you love my daughter."

"I do." Matt said sincerely.

"Mrs. Taylor and I were young when we got married and we really had to work at our relationship. I know you and Julie have been together a long time, but the real world is a tough place and you're going to have a lot of struggles ahead of you, big and small. There's no roadmap and sometimes you just have to wing it."

"With all due respect Coach, I've dealt with my share of struggles my entire life and I think I've come out the other side pretty ok."

Eric clapped his hand on Matt's shoulder as to acknowledge what he was saying. "Yes son, you have, but these are going to be different struggles. There will be sacrifices and compromises that you never would have envisioned you would have to make. The unexpected can happen and put a big wrench in your plans, and you have to be ready for that." With his emphasis on the word _**unexpected**_, Matt was almost positive that was Coach's way of saying_, if you get my daughter pregnant out of wedlock I will hunt you down and shoot you with my deer rifle._ He paused realizing how negative he was sounding. "Look…I'm not trying to be all gloom and doom because having someone to spend your life with, to create your own family with is the most amazing thing you can have in life. All I'm saying here is to take your time and be smart about the decisions you make."

Matt let his body relax, sensing this heart to heart was almost over. "Yes sir." He responded.

Eric looked over at his future son in law with a grin on his face. "One more thing…"

Matt looked at him expectantly.

"Good luck with Jules. She's a handful."


	7. Chapter 7

It had been three weeks since Julie moved to Chicago and she was finally starting to feel settled. Her things were completely unpacked and she and Matt had done a little redecorating around the apartment to make it feel a bit more female friendly and less bachelor artist.

Since school wasn't starting until the very end of August and Matt was occupied working at the gallery pretty much full-time during the week, she had nothing but endless opportunity to explore her new city. Almost every morning, Matt would leave a piece of paper on his pillow with a list of suggestions of things for her to do that day. She'd wake up and discover it lying next to her and smile, excited to see what Chicago had in store for her that day.

Sometimes she took Matt's suggestions and explored the museums, coffee shops or art galleries he recommended. Sometimes though, she would just wander around, take the metro to different neighborhoods and "get lost." As fun and exhilarating as it was, some days she'd feel a little in over her head, a little small, a little homesick. The fast pace, the hustle of the city, the style, the weather were all things she'd have to get used to. But then Matt would come home from work and they would hold hands across the dinner table and talk about their day and the future and her heart would feel so full in her chest that she thought it might burst.

It was Friday night and they were getting ready to go to a vernissage at his gallery. Julie fretted over what to wear, not wanting to look like she was trying too hard but not wanting to look completely out of place either. She finally decided on a simple but sexy black dress and some peep toe pumps.

She swiped some pink gloss over her lips and smiled reaching in her jewelry box for the amethyst necklace Matt had gotten her when she was fifteen. Over the years, that necklace had remained one of her prized possessions. There was something about it that just made her feel safe and protected, kind of like the boy who had given it to her.

She was about to reach around her neck to put it on when she heard a low whistle come from behind her. She turned around slowly to see Matt standing there admiring her. He grabbed her hand and spun her around.

"You look hot," he said, his eyes traveling up and down the length of her body.

She blushed and reached for his tie, pulling him in close.

"You don't clean up too bad yourself. Keep it up with the flattery and you just may get lucky later."

They began to kiss and after a minute or so, Matt broke away, breathless.

"Jules- we should probably get going or we'll end up spending the night in bed," he panted, his hand cupping her face.

Her gloss was smeared all across his full lips all shiny and glistening and he looked so serious and intense that she couldn't help but chuckle as she leaned forward to wipe it off with her fingers.

"Don't worry, that's what later is for," she said seductively reaching for his hand and leading him out of the apartment.

When they arrived at the gallery the party was in full swing. There were cocktail waiters handing out glasses of champagne and lots of beautiful sophisticated people standing around mingling and discussing the unique works of art scattered throughout the space. Matt held her arm, introducing her and greeting people as they waded through the crowd.

"There's this one piece I really want to show you," He shouted over the noise, leading her towards a sculpture in the corner of the room. As they approached, Julie noticed a woman standing alone.

"Matt?" the woman said, turning around and smiling a little too broadly.

"Alexa….hey!" he responded back, kissing her on the cheek. "This is my fiancée Julie."

Julie watched the woman's face go from surprise to disappointment and all of a sudden Julie wanted to go home.

The women shook hands and Matt shifted his weight awkwardly. "So…uh…what do you think of this piece?"

Alexa brought her champagne glass to her lips and took a sip. She was the opposite of Julie in every single way, creamy extremely fair complexion, dark curly hair, light blue eyes.

"I think it's moving, Important, intense."

She stared at him in a way that made Julie want to throw up.

Matt, sensing her discomfort pulled her closer and continued to make small talk as she stood there silently. Julie's heart sank into her chest as it had when she saw Matt's drawings of Carlotta when they had first gotten back together in high school. She wasn't a moron. These two had definitely slept together.

"You know what?" she said quietly, turning to Matt. "I just got a really bad headache. I think I'm going to go home and lie down."

He looked at her with concern. "Do you want me to come home with you?"

"No no no no, I don't want you to miss this. I'll just…uh…see you at home later." She gave him a kiss on the lips and scrambled out through the crowd leaving him standing there in confusion.


	8. Chapter 8

Julie pushed the heavy glass doors of the gallery open and hurried out on to the street her lip trembling and her eyes filling up with tears. She knew what was coming and wanted to get as far away as possible before she had a complete meltdown. She made it halfway down the block and then stopped to burst into tears.

Julie leaned up against a storefront and wiped her eyes, willing herself to pull it together.

The worst part of all of this was that she knew how insanely irrational she was being but felt completely powerless against it. Clearly she had no definitive proof Matt had slept with that girl, but between the way she looked and him and how incredibly uncomfortable he acted around her she would be shocked if she was wrong. The bottom line was that either way she had absolutely not right to be upset over it but that didn't stop her from feeling like she had been punched in the stomach.

She mentally scolded herself for being silly and naive enough to think that he didn't date or sleep with anyone in the year they had been apart just because he hadn't confessed anything when she had. The truth was, he didn't owe that to her and instead of facing the reality, she chose to assume otherwise (or not think about it at all) because the admitting to herself it was a possibility just hurt too much.

As she fished through her purse for a tissue she heard her name being called from down the street. She turned around to see Matt briskly walking towards her. She knew if she looked at him she didn't have a shot in hell of keeping it together so she turned to face the glass window of the storefront but the tears started again anyway.

He reached for her shaking shoulders and gently tried to turn her around.

"Julie, look at me," he pleaded his voice heavy with concern. "I have no idea what's going on. We were having a good time and then the next thing I know you're running out of there like the building was on fire and now you're crying. Please, tell me what's going on."

Julie kept her head down still refusing to look him in the face.

"Did you sleep with her?" she asked in a small voice.

The look in his eyes went from concern to shock. "Excuse me?"

"That woman you just introduced me to. Did anything ever happen between you two?"

Matt stared down at the sidewalk trying to absorb what was happening.

"Are you seriously asking me that right now? What difference does it make?" he sputtered looking at her in disbelief.

"It doesn't. I just want to know."

Before he could respond she changed her mind. "Actually Matt, don't answer that. I just want to go home."

She took a step to walk away and Matt stilled her with his hands.

"Julie, I didn't sleep with her."

"You didn't?"

"No, I didn't."

He looked like he had more to say so Julie kept silent and waited.

"My first few months here were tough, and I'm not saying that to make you feel bad because believe me, you had every single right to be furious at me. That doesn't change the fact though that it was a lot of change, living in a new city, starting this job where I had to prove that I wasn't just some uncultured small town kid. I felt like a fish out of water and I was really lonely."

Julie looked at him with sad eyes. "You weren't the only one feeling lonely," she softly said leaning back against the storefront again.

He rubbed his temple as if he was trying to loosen the thoughts in his mind.

"I met her at a gallery opening and we started seeing each other at different events."

Matt stopped talking for a minute as if he was deciding how much detail he should go into.

"We went out on a few dates. She liked me, and I really wanted to like her. We were seeing each other, so we obviously hooked up, but when it got to the point of sleeping together, I just couldn't do it. I told her I still wasn't over my ex-girlfriend and she didn't care for that answer too much. Despite her trying to convince me otherwise, I just didn't feel right about any of it and it ended right then and there."

"So you threw her out of your bed?" Julie muttered skeptically.

He looked at Julie a self deprecating smile starting to spread across his face. "She did accuse me of being gay though. Several times. I don't think she gets rejected very often."

They both laughed, lightening the moment.

Julie just stared at him as he continued, his voice starting to sound a little unsteady and his smile fading.

He loosened his tie, not because it needed loosening but because he desperately needed something to do with his hands.

"You have no idea how many nights I wanted to pick up the phone and call you. I wanted to do it so bad that there were times where it physically hurt, but I knew the second I heard your voice, I would get in that car and come back to Dillon."

His voice broke and he sounded like he was trying to hold back tears of his own.

"And that doesn't make what I did right, but I just want you to know that even though it might not make sense, I didn't call BECAUSE I loved you so much. Trying to date other girls made me realize it even more. I figured it was normal since it's never easy to get over your first love, but when you showed up at my door…"

He cupped her chin and tipped it up to look at him.

"It's hard to hear this stuff," she responded looking into his eyes.

He nodded his head in agreement. "I felt the same exact way when you told me about that TA guy."

Julie sighed guiltily rummaging in her purse for another tissue.

"Matt, we're not in high school anymore and I'm mature enough to recognize that I have no right to be upset about any of this. I was caught off guard and reacted badly," she said. "I guess I'm just feeling insecure right now. You have this whole amazing life here that you built for yourself and I feel like I'm just riding your coattails right now."

He began to laugh. "Who do you think I am, Smash?"

She smiled at the reference but was too drained to laugh along with him.

Matt stroked her hair. "Julie, please stop being so tough on yourself. You just got here. I know it must be overwhelming but once you start school and get used to living here, everything is going to fall into place. I promise."

He pulled her into his arms and she leaned into him. They stood in the street like that for a good ten minutes in silence. It felt so good she began to cry again.


	9. Chapter 9

Julie pulled herself out of Matt's arms and gazed wearily back down the street towards the gallery. There was no way she was going back in there tonight but she genuinely didn't want Matt to miss out on anything on her emotionally distressed behalf.

"Matt, I'm begging you. Go back in there and just meet me at home later."

"There's no way I'm going to do that," he said as if it was the most absurd idea he had ever heard.

"Look," she said feigning a smile, "I'm going to go home, put on some comfy clothes, lie in bed and watch Gossip Girl. Do you really want any part of that?"

"Chuck Bass is pretty sexy," he said breaking out into a full on Matt Saracen grin.

She slapped him in the arm playfully and gently pushed him in the direction of the gallery.

"I'm serious. I would feel so guilty if you missed out on an opportunity to meet some important artist because of me."

"I am with someone important and I'm going home with her right now," he replied throwing his arm around Julie and leading her down the street. "Do we really have to watch Gossip Girl though?"

* * *

Julie woke up the next morning to find the Matt's side of the bed empty. Her eyes traveled to his gray button down shirt lying strewn on the floor next to the bed. They had made love three times last night before they eventually passed out at 4am in each others arms. While it was amazing as it always was with him, she felt like his overwhelming need to pleasure her was definitely powered by his guilt. Guilt he really shouldn't be feeling. It was almost as if he felt like he had to prove how much he loved her and that broke her heart because clearly he shouldn't need to feel that way. The whole thing just felt so unsettling.

She blearily rubbed her eyes, swollen from all the crying the night before, wrapped the sheet around her and walked over to the kitchen to pour a glass of water. She noticed a note from Matt on the chalkboard they had hanging above the stove that said: _**Went to the gym…be back in a little bit! Love Matt. **_Immediately her eyes darted to her cell phone. She grabbed it, took a sip of her water and slid back under the covers.

Julie dialed the familiar number and leaned back against the headboard and waited.

"Hi Honey!" Tami Taylor's voice came flowing through the phone like a warm hug. It sounded loud in the background and she wondered where her mom was so early on a Saturday morning.

"Mom? Where are you? It sounds like you're at a zoo."

Tami groaned. "I might as well be. Your sister had a birthday at one of those party gym places."

Julie lost her train of thought when she heard the sound of children shrieking in the background.

"Is everything okay sweetie?" Tami asked cautiously. There was something in her daughter's voice that just didn't sound right.

Julie got right to the point. "Did you and dad every break up and get back together?"

Tami raised her eyebrows and shifted the cell phone to her other ear. "Jules? That question is a little out of left field. What's going on? Is everything okay with Matt?"

Julie pulled her knees to her chest and felt her eyes welling up again. What the hell was wrong with her?

"Everything is great. Matt is amazing and he's done everything in his power to make me feel totally welcome here. Really, I'm lucky to have him."

Ok…." Tami trailed off, "so why are you asking about me and dad and breaking up?"

Julie took a deep breath and came out with it. "Because last night we were at a party at Matt's gallery and we ran into someone. Someone that Matt dated when he and I weren't together."

"Well that must have been uncomfortable," Tami said sympathetically.

"Yes, it was, and I didn't make matters any better by having a complete emotional meltdown. I feel so stupid. I was sobbing on the street and we ended up leaving the party early and I just acted like such an immature pathetic idiot," Julie rambled twirling a strand of her hair nervously.

"Hon, when your dad and I were dating, we broke up once," Tami said. "We were in our senior year of high school and he had heard some rumor from one of his teammates that I had kissed Mo McArnold at a party. He confronted me about it and I was so angry that he would even believe for a second that I would do something like that, so I broke up with him on the spot."

"Wow, Mom, that's pretty dramatic," Julie laughed, imagining her mom completely chewing out her dad in front of all his football friends at some high school party.

"Yeah, and surprisingly, I stuck to my guns. Your dad tried everything, but stubborn old me wanted him to suffer for a while."

"I always thought dad was the stubborn one in the relationship," Julie teased.

"Well, I think we both shared that title, especially when we were kids," Tami said. "Anyway, after a few weeks, he actually started dating someone else, this rally girl named Jennifer that was obsessed with him. I saw them at a party together and um…let's just say your mama got a little wild."

Julie flopped across the bed a huge smile on her face continuing to imagine all of this going down. Sometimes it was hard to believe her parents were her age once.

"You got wild? What does that mean?"

Tami had already given her daughter entirely too many details. She lowered her voice an octave as if she was just realizing she was in a public place. "Nevernmind what it means. My point is, when you love someone so much, the thought of them being with someone else, even if it isn't in an unfaithful context, can make even the most sane person in the world go a little crazy."

The knot in Julie's stomach began to loosen. This talk with her mom was just what she needed.

"Well it's good to hear that I'm not the only person on the planet that has the tendency to overreact in a situation like this," Julie said.

"Oh honey," Tami laughed, a teasing hint in her voice, "You come from a long line of over reactors. Sometimes there's just no avoiding it, but I think it's pretty safe to say Matt probably knows that at this point and loves you anyway."

Julie paused for a moment. "Mom, I miss you."

"I miss you too sweet girl. I'll call you later okay? A little boy is trying to lick your sister in the ball pit and I think I need to intervene before she contracts some sort of disease."

A few minutes after Julie ended the call, her phone beeped with a text message from Tyra asking if she and Matt would be around for dinner Tuesday night as she was going to be visiting with her roommate at UT who was a Chicago native. Julie smiled as it was just like Tyra trying to avoid any extra time in Dillon at all costs. She texted her back excitedly and told her they'd love to have dinner with her. She was actually really looking forward to seeing a familiar face.

By the time Matt returned home, Julie had showered, fully dressed and straightening up the apartment.

She scurried over to kiss him and he held her at arm's length for a moment.

"I'm really gross," he warned wiping some perspiration off his forehead.

She grabbed his face and kissed him passionately. "I don't care," she grinned nuzzling his sweaty nose.

Matt looked surprised at her good mood but didn't want to question it.

"So I just talked to Landry," he said setting down his gym bag. "He's coming to Chicago next week before school starts back up again and wants to have dinner with us Tuesday night."

Julie laughed nervously. "Um…really funny you should say that…"


	10. Chapter 10

Tami reached into the backseat of the car and pulled a sleeping Gracie from her car seat. She heaved her over her shoulder and used her leg to shut the car door. She sighed to herself thinking about the long night ahead she was likely to have when Gracie woke up from her sugar crash and started running circles around the house refusing to go to bed at a normal hour.

"Hey babe," Eric called from the living room. He was reading Sports Illustrated, his feet propped on one of their moving boxes.

"Hi hon," Tami said wearily placing Gracie down carefully on the loveseat and covering her with a blanket.

Eric cocked his head at his sleeping child. "Good lord, how much cake did she have?"

Tami laughed dropping down into the chair and snuggling up against him. "Probably enough to keep her up at least two to three hours past normal bedtime."

Eric groaned. "It's getting harder and harder to get her to sleep as it is."

Tami reached into her purse that she had dropped on the floor a minute earlier and pulled out a plastic goody bag. She grabbed a tootsie roll pop out of it and offered it to Eric.

"Consolation prize?"

He grinned like a teenage boy, unwrapped the pop and stuck it in his mouth.

"What else you got in there?"

Tami rifled through the bag. "Skittles!" She ripped open the fun size package and poured the contents into her mouth. "Who the hell puts this kind of stuff in a three year old party goody bag?" she wondered out loud.

Eric laughed and shook his head at her. "You're an animal."

"I talked to Jules today," Tami said casually.

"Oh yeah? Eric asked. "How are things going in the windy city?"

"Good, good. She's getting adjusted. School is starting for her in a few weeks…" Tami trailed off.

Eric looked at his wife. He knew that sound in her voice. "What's wrong?" he said.

"Nothing!" Tami insisted. The last thing she needed her husband to know about were Matt Saracen's pre-Julie Chicago dating escapades and how they were affecting her daughter's psyche.

Eric eyed her suspiciously. "You better tell me if something is going on," he said nudging her in her ribs.

Tami ignored him and unwrapped a miniature Hershey bar and popped it in her mouth.

"Hey babe, remember that party at Jeff Thompson's house senior year?"

Eric looked at Tami like she was insane and then burst out laughing.

"Twenty plus years later and you're thinking about that all of a sudden? Why?"

"All those little kids tackling each other to the ground in the bouncy house at the party brought back some memories," Tami deadpanned.

"I have to admit," Eric said smiling, "I was a little scared of you at that moment. Scared and a little turned on. I still can't believe you dumped an entire beer over her head."

"She was asking for it. That stuck up little prissy….."

"You know that was my plan all along,"

"What was your plan?"

"It was pretty simple. Make you so jealous that you had no choice but to take my sorry ass back."

"I really can't believe you talked me into this," Julie said, holding the bed sheet around her naked body, most of it trailing behind her as she crossed the loft and plopped down on the blanket and pillows Matt had set up in the middle of the living area.

Matt grinned from behind his easel. "I gave you the opportunity to do it fully clothed in your Applebees uniform a few years ago and you declined so that was your one free pass."

Julie removed the sheet and lied stomach down with her feet crossed in the air behind her.

"Don't you have models for this in class?" she asked.

"Yeah, we do, but this is a really important project for me and I need a subject that really inspires me."

Julie smiled. "Oh really Mr. Saracen? Is that so?"

He paused and took her in for a minute and then began to sketch. "Yes, yes it is."

"I think I may need you to sign a contract confirming that this isn't going to end up on the internet, or in the home of some creepy art collector."

She shifted her weight slightly so that she was comfortably propped up on the pillows.

"I can't make any promises," Matt teased putting down one of his pencils and picking up another one.

"You know," Julie said, "it really isn't fair that I'm lying here naked and you're just standing around fully clothed."

Matt shook his head and laughed. "I think I see where this is going and I am not taking off my shirt. Julie Taylor, you need to be professional."

"It's your fault for being so hot," she said grinning up at him.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

She threw one of the pillows at him and he ducked.

"So, did you tell Landry yet that it's not just going to be the three of us at dinner?" Julie asked.

"Nope, did you tell Tyra?"

"Nope."

Julie's eyes twinkled. "We have to tell them right?"

Matt tossed the pillow back over at her. "You're a troublemaker."


	11. Chapter 11

Landry stretched his legs out on the ottoman and leaned back in the armchair. His flight had arrived in Chicago a little early so instead of meeting up with everyone at the restaurant, he was hanging out with Julie at the apartment and waiting for Matt to get home from work. When Matt had mentioned to him on the phone that Tyra would be joining them, Landry sounded surprised but remained pretty tight lipped, which left both Matt and Julie wondering what to expect. He hadn't seen or spoken to her in a few years but whether it was positive or negative, he rarely kept his mouth shut when it came to the subject of Tyra Collette. As far as Tyra's reaction went, she had actually sounded excited at the prospect of seeing Landry. She didn't seem to consider for a second that maybe he wasn't so excited to see her, but then again, that was Tyra and Landry's relationship in a nutshell.

"Julie, I have to say, I'm impressed," Landry said looking around the loft and resting his hands behind his neck, "you've only been living here for a few weeks and that slob cleaned up his act real quick."

Julie laughed as she grabbed two beers out of their fridge. Getting alcohol in Chicago wasn't as easy as getting it in Texas, but the guy at the corner store downstairs seemed to appreciate their constant business and never gave them much of a problem unless there was a police officer in the store or something.

"How'd the first year of college treat you?" Julie asked, plopping down on the loveseat next to him and cracking open her beer.

"Oh you know, too many girls, too little time. Broads really dig the brilliant scholar tortured musician thing."

Julie smirked. Half the time she didn't know whether Landry was being sarcastic or if he really believed the crazy things that came out of his own mouth.

"First of all…calling women broads? Just….no. And tortured musician? I love you Landry, but I don't think so," Julie said.

He reached for the beer she had set on the coffee table for him and took a sip.

"We're really heating up the college bar scene in Houston," Landry informed her with a grin. He reached down to unzip his suitcase and pulled out two brand new Crucifictorious t-shirts. He tossed them over to Julie.

"You better hold on to these, they'll eventually be collector's items."

Julie held the t-shirt up against her body. "I promise not to sell this on eBay unless times get really tough around here."

Landry's eyes wandered over to the space at the far end of the apartment that Matt had claimed as his makeshift art studio. It was clearly the one area that Julie didn't give him a hard time about keeping clean. It was only a few square feet of space but sketch books covered the floor and paintbrushes and various art materials were scattered around messily.

And then, Julie and Landry saw it at the same time. The easel with the naked drawing of her still clipped right smack on top on it. It took Landry a minute, but then she noticed his eyes widen when he realized what, or rather who, it was. Before he could give it a second glance, she jumped off the couch and raced over to snatch it. Her cheeks were burning as she placed it face down on the hardwood floor.

"I um…um…." she stuttered glancing over at Landry noticing that his face was even redder than hers.

They both jumped when they heard the front door unlock.

"Hey!" Matt called out. His eyes lit up when he saw Landry and they embraced in one of those manly hugs while Julie stood in the corner still stewing in her mortification.

When Matt came over to kiss Julie hello she yanked at his hand.

"Can I see you in the bathroom for a moment please?" she hissed.

He looked at her like she was crazy. "Um, Jules, I don't think now is really the appropriate time for that."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, dragging him away.

"We'll be back in a minute," she called out to Landry shutting the door behind them.

"What are you doing?" he asked in confusion.

"Your best friend just saw me naked."

"He saw you what?"

"Remember that sexy little sketch you drew of me this weekend? You forgot to put it somewhere discreet and he caught a nice big glance when we were sitting on the couch talking."

Julie buried her face in her hands.

"What did he think of it?" Matt deadpanned.

She punched him in the arm. "Matthew, I'm serious, this isn't funny. I'm horrified."

Matt put his hands on her shoulders and tried to control the grin that was trying desperately to spread across his face.

"Look Julie, I'm sorry. I should have been more careful." He stifled a laugh. "Next time I sketch you naked I promise not to leave it out in the open like that."

Julie snorted. "Oh you're hilarious! Next time? In your dreams."

"Look at it this way… the second he sees Tyra, both his short and long term memory will undoubtedly be wiped out," Matt said. "Now can we please go back out there?"

Julie pouted for a minute longer and then opened the bathroom door.

"This is going to be an interesting night," she mumbled to herself.


	12. Chapter 12

It was an uncharacteristically hot night for Chicago, even for August. Julie pulled off her cardigan and shoved it in her purse as Matt stepped out into the street to hail a cab. They rode to the restaurant in silence which made Julie began to wonder if this was a truly terrible idea. Landry was all jokes pretty much every minute of his life, but now he just stared out the window of the taxi with a serious look on his face saying nothing.

They arrived at the restaurant and Matt walked up to the hostess who was standing behind a fancy gold podium. He and Julie didn't typically eat at such fancy restaurants, but they figured they would splurge since their friends were in town.

"Reservation for Saracen," he said.

The hostess tapped her pen and looked down at her reservation book.

"Wonderful! One of your guests is already here," she responded, motioning to a waiter who led them through the restaurant and to a table by the window.

Tyra was already seated, looking down in concentration typing something into her phone. She was a blonde again, a strawberry shade, stick straight and cut to her shoulders. Julie smiled to herself as Tyra could never seem to keep the hair color longer than three or four months. It was almost as if she felt the need to continually reinvent herself, kind of like Madonna. One thing that never seemed to change though, were the tight clothes.

"Hi Y'all!" Tyra called out with a smile as soon as she noticed the group approaching the table.

She jumped up to wrap Julie in a giant hug and then kissed Matt hello. She then moved over to Landry who was hanging back stiffly behind Matt. She embraced him and gave him a peck on the cheek, not at all tuned into his obvious discomfort.

After the waitress had taken their drink orders, Tyra leaned back in her chair and smiled at Landry.

"It's been pretty long hasn't it? How're you doing?"

"Yeah, it has been pretty long since you left me waiting for you on the side of the road and never returned my call," Landry said putting his napkin in his lap and refusing to look at her.

Tyra's smile faded and she immediately went on the defensive.

"Really Landry? I'd like to think that we've both matured enough to act like adults. We dated in high school and then broke up when I went away to college, like a million other couples do. Are you really still holding a grudge against me for that?"

Landry rolled his eyes. "What a typical Tyra response."

Julie looked at Matt in a panic.

"So, um…Tyra, how's Austin?" Matt asked, trying to change the subject while shooting a stern glare over in Landry's direction.

Tyra fiddled with her bracelet, clearly still a bit shocked at Landry's reaction to her. "It's good, I just got into student government, so that's been pretty interesting," she said.

Julie saw an opportunity to lighten the mood and she desperately took it.

"Remember your campaign for class president?" she giggled. "I still have my Tyra for change t-shirt."

Tyra shook her head at the memory and laughed along with Julie. "Good god, remind me why I thought strippers in the quad at Dillon High would be a good idea."

"Do I really need to?" Landry mumbled under his breath.

Tyra slammed her hands on the table. "Ok Landry, that's it! You and I are going to the bar to have a little chat."

She grabbed his arm and yanked him up from the table.

"I'm sure y'all won't mind if I borrow him for a few minutes, do you?" Tyra asked.

"Go right ahead," Matt said, awkwardly taking a sip of his water.

The second they were gone he turned to Julie.

"Jesus."

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Julie whispered. "It was years ago. I can't believe he's still hung up on her."

Matt raised his eyebrows. "You really can't believe it?"

Julie shrugged. "Ok, I guess I can believe it, but I'm just surprised he agreed to this. If he's still harboring this violent resentment towards her, he could have told you he didn't want to see her and we could have figured something else out."

"Landry, give up an opportunity to make a scene in a public place that involves Tyra?" Matt asked laughing. "That's like his favorite pastime."

Julie glanced over at the bar. "I hope they don't card."


	13. Chapter 13

When they approached the bar, Tyra perched herself on one of the empty stools and signaled over to the bartender. "Two shots of tequila and two beers please, any kind is fine," she said looking over at Landry who begrudgingly pulled out the stool next to her and sat down with a thump.

"Tequila?" he asked incredulously.

The bartender placed shot glasses in front of them and winked at Tyra. This wasn't lost on Landry who rolled his eyes with vigor. Tyra grabbed the salt shaker and poured some on the inside of her wrist.

"Oh Landry, loosen up," she sighed pushing the salt shaker over in his direction.

"Salt is for amateurs," he said picking up the shot glass and throwing it back. His scrunched up face said something completely different though which made Tyra chuckle sympathetically.

She held out a lemon. "Peace offering?" she asked.

Landry took the lemon and sucked on it for a second before putting it back down on his napkin. Tyra threw back her own shot and chased it with a swig of the beer that the bartender had just placed in front of her.

"Landry, I don't know what else to say but I'm sorry,"

"Timely."

"Cut me some slack here. I didn't expect to get ambushed at dinner tonight, therefore I didn't have a completely fleshed out apology prepared."

"You know Tyra, if you just would have returned my phone call and had the decency to tell me it was officially over then I would have totally understood. No hard feelings."

Tyra snorted. "That's a lie and you know it. When has it ever been fine when I've told you I wanted us to go our separate ways?"

"So you just decided avoiding the situation was easier than having any sort of conflict? That's true maturity right there."

"Look, I know this isn't an excuse, and it's going to sound really awful, but when I left Dillon, I just wanted to leave it all behind. As much as I loved you and cared about you, I didn't want anything tying me to that town."

Landry looked up at her in amusement. "That's your apology?" he said, trying his hardest not to smile.

Tyra gave him a self-deprecating grin. "Yeah, I've never been very good at that."

She paused and put her hand on top of his. "Look, you can hate me if you want. That's fine. But, I do want you to know that I appreciate everything you did for me. I really do."

Landry hated that no matter how angry he was at her, how hurt, how frustrated, she could always seem to wipe the slate clean with that softness in her voice.

He waved the bartender over.

"Two more tequila shots please."

Landry downed his second shot quickly, trying to be a tough guy in his own dorky Landry way, which was something Tyra had always found incredibly endearing for some reason.

"I'll consider forgiving you on one condition," he said.

"What's that?" she asked.

"You come visit me in Houston some time. I want to see you front row at one of my Crucivictorious gigs."

"You've got yourself a deal." Tyra grabbed Landry's hand and shook it. "I might even throw my panties at the stage."

**FNL*/FNL*/FNL*/FNL**

After dinner, the four of them had gone back to Matt and Julie's apartment where they hung out listening to music, catching up and sharing a few bottles of wine.

When the guys had gone for a beer run downstairs, Tyra bemoaned to Julie about how long it had been since she had sex.

"I'm practically celibate," she had whined.

Julie remained silent, smiling to herself. She most certainly hadn't been celibate since she arrived in Chicago.

Tyra smirked. "What are you smiling about Taylor?"

"Um, nothing." Julie said, her face turning red.

"I get it. You guys are clearly doing it like bunnies."

"Tyra!" Julie shrieked.

"How often do you guys do it?"

Julie took a sip of her wine. "A girl doesn't kiss and tell."

"Who said anything about kissing," Tyra said raising her eyebrows.

"Nice try. I think I'm going to keep that information to myself though," Julie responded with a grin. "As far as your situation goes, if you're looking for some fun tonight I'm sure Landry would be more than happy to oblige."

Tyra swatted Julie's arm playfully.

"That sounds like a truly terrible idea," she said pouring some more wine into her glass, "but maybe."

Landry and Tyra were both pretty tipsy when they left, agreeing to share a cab to their separate destinations, but Julie wondered if Tyra would somehow end up back at Landry's hotel.

An few hours later, Julie snuggled her naked body up against Matt who was passed completely out cold next to her, one of his arms dangling off the side of the bed. After Landry and Tyra left, they had engaged in crazy drunken sex in every single corner of the apartment. After all these years she had no idea Matt could be so wild and she liked it. She made a mental note to give their kitchen table a thorough scrub down the next morning.

Julie closed her eyes and tried to sleep but she was wide awake. She nudged Matt until his eyes fluttered open. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

"Mhmmm," he muttered burying his face into her hair.

"I can't sleep," she whispered in his ear.

"I didn't tire you out before?" Matt asked, still half asleep, his voice low and scratchy.

"Very funny," she replied, pulling the blanket tighter around them.

"Well that's just unacceptable," he said pulling her on top of him. She smiled into his mouth as he put his lips on hers.


	14. Chapter 14

Julie met Tyra for breakfast at a diner the next morning before Tyra had to head to the airport to get on her flight back to Texas. She had planned an intentionally quick three day long visit before school started up again to see her mom, Mindy, Stevie and the twins. Last Christmas, Tyra had swore to Mindy she would visit more often and help out, but she hadn't really kept good on that promise.

As Julie sat down at the table, she noticed Tyra's huge oversized sunglasses.

"What's with the movie star shades?" Julie teased. She reached for one of the menus sitting on the table.

Tyra groaned. "I cannot believe I drank that much last night. I don't think I've been that intoxicated since my first year of college." She took a sip of water. "No excessive consumption of alcohol for me for at least the next two weeks."

"So, I have to ask," Julie said slyly peering over her menu, "where did you end up crashing last night after you left our place?"

"It was so late and I didn't want to wake my roommate Jenn's entire family up, so I just ended up going back to Landry's hotel room,"

"And how was that?" Julie asked, a slow grin spreading across her face.

"Satisfying," Tyra said, pressing her lips together and trying not to laugh.

"Come on Tyra….seriously!" Julie giggled. "Did anything happen?"

"Well I'll say this. Landry has clearly learned a few things in the past two years."

"So you did! I knew it!"

Tyra pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head and squinted at the harsh diner lighting. "Yeah, we did," she confessed.

Tyra couldn't deny the fact that last night was actually really nice. Maybe it had to do with the fact that she hadn't been with anyone for a while, but there was just something about the familiarity and safeness of being with Landry. All that aside though, she had lied in bed after, wrapped up in his arms and guiltily wondered if she had made a horrible mistake. Being with him wasn't just casual sex with an ex-boyfriend like it had been with say Tim Riggins, and she knew that.

"I made sure we had a conversation this morning before I left and I think we're on the same page," Tyra said quietly, "he knows that this doesn't mean we're back together or anything like that."

Julie glanced at Tyra skeptically. "If you ask me, I think he's always going to be madly in love with you no matter what kind of conversation you guys have."

"Well there's nothing I can do to control his feelings, but I think from past experience, I've learned I need to be straight with him."

"How very mature of you Ms. Collette," Julie replied, looking impressed.

"Yeah, I'm trying to work on that sensitivity thing."

The waitress came over and set down two coffees on the table. Tyra reached for hers almost instantly and took a sip. "See, I think Landry will always be in my life in some capacity, I'm just not sure what that is yet."

Julie nodded. "I get it."

"We're not like you and Matty," Tyra said. "You guys spent time apart, you dated other people, but when it came down to it, you were always miserable without each other and better people with each other. You guys are lucky. That's what everyone wants. "

FNL*/ FNL*/ FNL*/ FNL*/ FNL*/

It was just like old times except Landry was standing on the other side of the front desk at the gallery and not perched on the counter at the Alamo Freeze, and Matt was dressed impeccably in dress slacks and a button down shirt instead of a white cotton uniform and funny little paper hat. It was Landry's last evening in town and he had stopped by to pick Matt up for their "guy's night" which was to include burgers, wings and watching the Cubs game at a nearby sports bar.

Landry glanced at a nearby bronze sculpture of a naked man with angel wings holding an axe.

"I still don't get why someone would pay fourteen thousand dollars for a hunk of metal shaped like a naked guy."

"You might want to voice that opinion somewhere else," Matt hissed, his face turning red as he looked around to make sure nobody was listening.

"Calm down Matt," Landry replied, "not everyone has the same taste in art."

Matt snorted. "Or any taste in art."

All of a sudden he noticed the shit eating grin on Landry's face. "What are you so happy about?" he asked.

"Well you know I'm never one to kiss and tell, but I didn't go back to the hotel alone last night."

"Oh lord." Matt buried his face in his hands. "You didn't. She didn't. No. Just...no."

"It's all good man," Landry assured him.

Matt shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah, I've heard that before. I give it a week till I get the Tyra is a heartless bitch phone call." He glanced at his watch. "Let's get out of here before you break something."

FNL*/ FNL*/ FNL*/ FNL*/ FNL*/

It was midnight and Matt tried to enter the apartment as quietly as possible. He set his keys down lightly and crept through the darkened apartment and past the bed where Julie was peacefully sleeping, her long blonde hair fanned out around her, clutching Matt's pillow.

Matt brushed his teeth, stripped down to just his boxers and crawled into bed next to her. He stared at her sleeping for a moment and pulled her into his arms. She stirred and snuggled in closer, opening her eyes for a second and then closing them again.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hi," she replied groggily opening her eyes again. "How was your guy's night with Landry?"

"It was good. I missed you though." He smiled and stroked her hair.

"I missed you too," she said returning his smile and smoothing her hands over his chest.

"Will you marry me?" he asked, looking at her with all the seriousness in the world.

She laughed. "You already asked me that, remember?"

"I remember. Maybe I should have clarified. I want to marry you now. I don't want to wait."

Julie rolled over on her side and sighed softly. She was pretty surprised he was trying to have this conversation with her at midnight when she was clearly out of it and wondered why he was acting so strangely.

She put a hand on his cheek. "We talked about this Matt. I just moved in three weeks ago and we promised my parents we'd wait at least two years minimum. I think it's probably smart to let them adjust to the idea of us living together, get settled in school, jobs, stability and all that stuff. I have a lot of trust to win back with them and I think impulsively announcing that we're getting married right away after we told them something else a few months ago won't get a good reaction."

He looked down, disappointed. "You know, it's not your parent's decision, right?"

"Yes, you're right. Ultimately it's not their decision, but it's important to me to have their blessing and I thought it was to you too."

Julie looked into his eyes with concern. This was coming out of nowhere. Something had definitely happened, but in true Matt Saracen fashion he was making her fish it out of him. She propped up her pillow, leaned against the headboard and asked him point blank "What's the matter?"

Matt glanced up at her, his eyes doing that red watery thing they did when he was trying to hold back tears.

"You know how I call grandma every Wednesday?"

Julie nodded.

"Well tonight was the first night I called and she didn't get on the phone. Heather, her nurse, said she was having a really bad week. She's getting worse." His voice broke. "It's just…probably a matter of time before she doesn't even remember me anymore. The thought of her not being able to see us get married..." Matt trailed off, knowing if he continued his thought, he would completely break down.

Julie's heart sank into her stomach.

"Oh Matt," she whispered, reaching out and wrapping her arms around him.


	15. Chapter 15

Julie waved goodbye to a few of her classmates and threw her booksinto her tote bag. Her first semester of school in Chicago was officially over. Luckily most of her credits from Burleson had transferred over as they were pretty standard college freshman requirements and now she was just trying to focus on picking a major by the end of the school year. She felt like she was gravitating towards English but journalism was appealing to her also. Making friends had been slightly challenging as someone who lived off campus and had a fiancé at nineteen years old, but she hit it off with a few girls in her English lit study group and begun to hang out with them fairly regularly. It felt incredibly freeing to not to have to lean on Matt so much as she did when she first came to the city.

Julie wrapped her wool scarf around her neck several times and braced herself before walking out into the frigid Chicago night. It was snowing again and if she had to guess, the wind chill was probably at least ten below zero. She cursed herself for not buying a warmer jacket. Matt had warned her early into the winter that her heaviest coat wasn't going to cut it, but she had waved him off and now she was just too stubborn to admit he was right. She shivered as she walked down into the metro.

**/**/**/**

"Hello, hello!" Julie called out as she unlocked the front door to the apartment.

Bob Dylan was playing and Matt was sitting on the couch surrounded by books and looking incredibly stressed out. He was in the throes of his finals which included exams and papers for his regular academic courses and several big art projects. Julie was trying as hard as possible to stay out of his way but it was tough in a studio apartment. He was spending some really late nights in the studio at school or at the library and she missed him so she was glad to find him at home.

"Hey," Matt responded, barely looking up from his books.

Julie plopped down next to him on the couch and unzipped her boots. "It's freezing out there."

He rolled his eyes. "Well if you had a warmer jacket you wouldn't be so cold. You're going to catch pneumonia walking around out there," Matt said, shaking his head at her stubbornness, a trait she had undoubtedly inherited from her father.

"I thought you were going to study at the library tonight?" she asked, putting her feet on the coffee table and leaning back with a relaxed sigh.

"I was, but it was packed, and I'd just rather be home." He ran a hand through his hair and looked at her wearily. "I have no idea how I'm going to get all of this done."

"Want me to make you some flashcards and help you study?"

He laughed. "If you make flashcards I'll never end up getting any studying done."

Julie raised her eyebrows. "You know, you only get a kiss if you get the answers right."

"I'm very smart," he replied, winking at her.

Julie picked one of Matt's text books up off the coffee table. "Alchemy and Mysticism? Really? This sounds like a book you'd buy off the psychic network hotline."

Matt swatted her arm and laughed. "Jules, I need to study…seriously."

"Okay, okay." She kissed him on the lips and held her forehead to his for a moment. "I want to tell you something first though."

"What?"

"I know we haven't talked about this in a while, but I've been thinking about us getting married a lot lately. We should make it official. I know I was worried about my parents and doing it sooner than we planned on, but having Grandma there for the wedding is important to me too. I don't want to wait anymore. I think we should tell my mom and dad when we see them over the holidays."

Christmas was in two weeks and originally she and Matt had planned to split up since they weren't married yet and obviously seeing Grandma was Matt's number one priority, but Aunt Shelley had offered to host this year at her home in Dallas. Her mom, dad and Gracie would be flying in from Philadelphia which meant Matt and Julie would be able to rent a car and make the couple hour drive to see Grandma Saracen after they had Christmas with her family. Grandma's condition hadn't really worsened in the last couple of months, but it certainly wasn't getting any better and she could tell it was really weighing on Matt's mind.

"I was thinking we could shoot for spring or summer. I know it's not a lot of time but we could definitely throw something together," Julie continued. She looked at Matt expectantly. "Well? Why aren't you saying anything?"

He stared at her unable to suppress his mile wide grin. "Really?" he asked.

"Really," she confirmed grinning back at him. "You're really cute when you're happy."

He picked her up and carried her across the apartment. He tossed her on the bed and started kissing her.

"Screw the flashcards."

**/**/**/**

Eric was sitting at the kitchen table with Gracie in his lap, attempting to eat what was left of his dinner when Tami walked back into the room and put the cordless phone back on in its charger.

"So I just talked to Jules and she and Matt are excited to see everyone for the holidays."

"Uh hmmmmm," Eric nodded absentmindedly while shoving the last bite of his chicken fajita in his mouth.

Tami stopped and leaned up against the kitchen counter.

"She said they have something they want to talk to us about when we're all together."

Eric's head immediately snapped up to attention.

"Something to tell us? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Tami shot him a nasty look and nodded over in Gracie's direction. "Language!"

Eric stood up from the table and carried Gracie into the living room and set her down to play with her toys. He walked back into the kitchen.

"Tami, so help me god if he got her pregnant."

"I really don't think so babe. I didn't get that feeling." Tami chuckled. "However, I do love that it could be anything in the world, yet that is the first thing that comes to your mind."

He walked over to the bar and grabbed a glass off the top shelf. He poured some Scotch into it and held it to his lips for a moment before taking a sip.

"He better not have."


	16. Chapter 16

Since Shelley's tiny one bedroom condo was clearly too small to accommodate overnight guests, Julie, Matt and the rest of the Taylors were all staying at a Marriott in downtown Dallas. After Julie and Matt had checked in, she texted her mom to see what room they were in and sure enough, it was the one directly next to theirs.

Matt was convinced Coach Taylor had requested it on purpose so he could keep an eye on them, to which Julie couldn't completely deny the possibility. Her dad could certainly be a sick twisted individual.

After removing the top bedspread and placing it on a nearby chair, Julie flopped down on the plush hotel bed.

Matt undid his belt and stepped out of his jeans, throwing them on top of the suitcase.

"I really can't believe we're in an adjoining room to your parents. I hope these walls are nice and thick."

Julie made a gagging noise and cuddled under the sheets. "Please don't say things like that," she begged.

Matt crawled into the bed next to her and kissed her forehead. "Hopefully having Gracie four feet away from them will be enough of a deterrent."

She closed her eyes for a moment, settled into his arms and before long they were using every square inch of the king size hotel bed to their advantage.

All of a sudden there were a series of several loud knocks on the door followed by Coach's voice shouting "Jules? Matt? You in there?"

Julie's eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head. "You've got to be kidding me," she mumbled breathlessly.

Matt resurfaced from what he was doing under the blanket with a horrified look on his face, while Julie took a deep breath, desperately trying to collect herself.

"Hi dad! Can you..um…give us a minute?" Julie called out, scrambling to find her underwear which was likely tangled up under the seven layers of hotel bed sheets and blankets.

"You should have just pretended we weren't here," Matt whispered, jumping up from the bed and yanking one of the layers of sheet with him.

"I'll be in a really cold shower if you're looking for me," he said morosely, pulling the bathroom door shut.

Julie threw on clothes on as quickly as she could and opened the door to see her dad standing out in the hallway with his hands shoved in the pockets of his green windbreaker. He leaned in to give her a hug and then eyed her suspiciously.

"Were you sleeping? It's only 8pm."

Julie sighed and looked down at the floor. "No. We were just relaxing."

"Well there's a bar downstairs with the game on, so I was thinking the three of us could go down there and hang out. Your mom is trying to put Gracie to bed so she wanted it quiet in there," he said motioning to the room next door.

Coach Taylor took it upon himself to push past Julie and enter their room. He sat down in the armchair next to the window and stretched out, making himself at home. She held her breath hoping he wouldn't notice the bra lying on the floor a few feet from where he was sitting.

"Where's Matt?"

"In the shower, so you should um…maybe wait for us downstairs."

Coach Taylor stood up, walked over to the bathroom door and pounded on it. "HEY! SARACEN!" he shouted, "Shut that water and put some clothes on. We're going down to the bar."

Julie buried her head in her hands. If the cold shower wasn't doing the trick, that certainly did.

**/**/**/**

Matt and the Taylor family sat around Shelley's tiny living room looking at each other awkwardly as she ran around like a chicken without a head trying to manage the several dishes she had cooking in the kitchen. Her home was hardly conducive to hosting a family holiday but Tami hadn't wanted to insult her when she offered and graciously accepted the invitation on behalf of her family.

In true Shelley fashion she had greeted Eric by poking him in the stomach and teasing him about eating too many cheesesteaks, to which he responded by asking her what career or boyfriend she was trying out that week. She informed him that she did in fact have a boyfriend, and he would be joining them shortly.

"This ought to be good," he mumbled under his breath as she turned to go back into the kitchen.

Tami elbowed him in the ribs and told him to shut it with no words necessary, just a threatening flash of her eyes.

"Are you sure I can't help with anything?" Tami called out as the smoke alarm began to go off.

"Oh I'm just fine!" Shelley responded. "You just relax."

Eric rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it sounds fine in there," he said quietly turning to face Tami on the loveseat. "We really should have made dinner reservations somewhere just in case."

Julie stood up from the couch where Gracie was sitting on Matt's lap reading a book together. "I'm going to see if she needs anything in there," she said heading in the direction of the kitchen. She hated it when her parents bickered, and her dad had just seemed jittery and completely out of sorts since they had arrived in Dallas. After his untimely interruption of their fun last night, and while they were sitting down at the bar watching the game, he had offered to get Julie a glass of wine. Her parents certainly weren't naïve enough to think she didn't drink ever, especially being a teenager in Dillon, but they definitely didn't encourage underage drinking in their presence much less be the ones to procure it, so that seemed extremely odd to say the least.

With that said, Julie would have normally taken her dad up on that offer, but she had declined only because she was finishing off a pack of antibiotics for a nasty sinus infection she had come down with a few days before their trip. Even more strange, when she turned him down, Coach Taylor had looked almost disturbed.

Tami looked at Eric sternly and lowered her voice to a near whisper. "You need to stop ragging on my sister. She invited us over here, into her home, she's working hard on this meal and you need to be the gracious brother in law I know you are."

He looked up at the ceiling. "She started it," he whispered back.

Tami put her hand over Eric's and gave him a sympathetic look. "This isn't about Shelley is it?"

Eric glanced over at Matt to make sure he was sufficiently distracted with Gracie.

"She didn't drink the wine I offered her last night."

"Wine? Who didn't drink the wine?"

"Julie."

"You offered our daughter alcohol?"

"Last night at the bar in the hotel, I offered to get her one glass of wine. I figured if she drank it, I could rule out a pregnancy, but guess what? She didn't drink it. She gave me some lame excuse about being on antibiotics or something."

Tami rolled her eyes. "Did you ever stop to think maybe she is really on antibiotics?"

Their argument was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. Shelley came galloping out of the kitchen to open the door, red sauce splatters now littering her previously clean apron.

"I can't wait for you all to meet Rocco!" she shouted clapping her hands together.

**/**/**/**


	17. Chapter 17

"So, Rocco, what do you do for a living?" Eric asked cutting into his ham.

Rocco Andronetti was a large burly man with curly brown hair and a tight white t-shirt that seemed to beg for mercy against the arms that rippled with the amount of muscle you'd only have if you spent at least six out of the seven days of the week in the gym. Tattoos lined his right arm and extremely expensive looking snakeskin boots adorned his feet.

"He has a very successful business," Shelley said proudly.

Rocco shoved a forkful of potatoes in his mouth and swallowed. "I'm in the adult toys and accessories business."

He flashed a million dollar smile and looked over at Eric. "Actually, if you're interested, I brought some samples of some of our newest products. Good for spicing up the marriage if you know what I mean."

Eric choked on his sip of beer and then quickly regained his composure. "Appreciate that, but I think we're a'ight."

Rocco reached into his back pocket and pulled a business card out of his wallet. He put it in front of Eric's plate. "We have a website too, if you want to check it out later, you know, in a more private setting."

Tami looked down at the plate of food she was preparing for Gracie to eat and started cutting the meat aggressively.

"So…um…how did you two meet?" Julie asked brightly, desperate to change the subject from sex toys and the ways in which her parents could use them to spice up their marriage. She was pretty sure that after this dinner Matt was going to reconsider wanting to marry into this family.

Shelly smiled. "Well…I decided a few months ago that I was finally going to get that tattoo I had been talking about for years, except I was really nervous about getting it done, and sure enough when I saw that needle, I passed out cold. When I woke up, this handsome man was staring down at me asking if I was okay."

"I was getting some ink done one chair over and I couldn't resist helping out a damsel in distress." Rocco said winking at Shelley.

Matt glanced at Rocco's tattooed arm. "Did you have an artist design that for you? It looks pretty intricate."

"You've got a good eye." Rocco tapped the tattoo closest to his bicep. "This is a snippet from Picasso's Guernica."

Tami put the plate of food down in front of Gracie and smiled at her future son-in-law, incredibly grateful for subject matter that didn't involve sex toys. "Matt is quite the artist."

"Maybe I should have you design my next tattoo," Rocco said.

Shelley whacked him in the arm. "No more tattoos for you until you get your ex-girlfriend's name removed from your arm."

Eric raised his eyebrows at Tami and she knew she was in for it later. Making fun of her sister was one of his favorite past times and Shelley was just making it too easy with this new character. Rocco didn't seem like a bad guy necessarily, the fact that he had a steady job and less than 3 ex-wives put him above a lot of the other losers she had dated in the past. But between his appearance, his career and his unsolicited sex advice, she knew her husband had more than enough material to run with.

Halfway into dinner, Gracie got restless at the table and Tami allowed her to go play with her toys in the other room so the adults could finish their meal in peace.

A few minutes later, Tami looked over at Eric. "Hon, do you hear that buzzing noise?" she whispered.

He nodded looking around suspiciously. "Yeah, what is that?"

The noise got louder, and as if on cue, Gracie wandered back into the kitchen holding something in her hand.

"Look mama, a new toy," she said giggling and depositing a vibrator in Tami's lap.


	18. Chapter 18

The Taylors were back at the hotel after painfully enduring the rest of the afternoon over at Shelley's. The awkwardness had been palpable pretty much from the moment Rocco had placed his sleazy business card on the dining room table. Tami could usually take her sister's ridiculousness with a grain of salt, even laugh at it, but today she had hard time hiding her mortification and embarrassment, especially after Gracie's discovery had resulted in her dumping an entire glass of white wine on her lap.

When Shelley had returned to Dallas from Dillon years ago, Tami was optimistic that she would finally get her life together, but she was still jumping from one flaky career to the next and the stream of men she dated just seemed to get stranger and stranger.

After changing into some comfy clothes, Tami slid into the leather chaise in the far corner of the room and stretched her legs out. "I don't know what to even say about that sister of mine anymore," she said.

Eric was sitting at the desk waiting for his laptop to boot up so he could check the scores from the day's football games. Watching football in between eating and opening gifts was usually a Taylor family tradition on Christmas day, but Shelley had insisted on keeping the TV off so they could have uninterrupted "family bonding time." Eric was pretty sure though that it had nothing to do with family bonding and everything to do with sticking it to him since she knew full well he wanted to watch those games.

"What can I say?" He smirked over at Tami and then refocused his attention back to the screen. "And to think, we left our three year old daughter with her for four days when we moved Julie to Chicago. God knows what was going on in that condo. I can't remember who she was even dating at that point." Eric dug a hand through his hair that had somehow managed to stay relatively tame despite all the chaos that had ensued over the course of the day.

Tami glanced at Gracie who was watching The Little Mermaid, one of her Christmas gifts from Julie and Matt, on a small portable DVD player over on one of the double beds and sighed. "My sister may be a lot of things but she's always been responsible when it comes to watching our children and you know that. She took care of our Gracie for us when she was only a few months old. Remember that Eric?"

"Of course I remember," he laughed. "I remember she became so damn annoying we had to throw her out of the house."

"Actually no, YOU threw her out the house without consulting me first."

Eric raked his hand through his hair again, this time sheepishly. "I apologized for that."

"I know you did sugar."

Tami smiled at him and got up to grab Gracie's pajamas from inside the hotel dresser drawer.

"Time to get ready for bed sweet girl," she announced brightly, to which Gracie responded by shouting "No!" and rising up to jump up and down on the bed.

Bedtime had really become a struggle these days, and mixing up the routine by taking her out of her usual environment for a few days and giving her a slew of new toys and distractions wasn't helping. Tami looked at Eric wearily for a little help.

In one swift motion, he got up and swept Gracie off her feet. He flew her around the room like an airplane for a minute tossing her back on the bed with a thud as she giggled uncontrollably.

"Eric! You're just riling her up!" Tami scolded, but she couldn't help but grin.

He knelt down next to his little girl. "It's time for bed kiddo. You listen to your mama ok?"

Gracie smiled that mischievous smile, one that he recognized from Julie's childhood, the one that said _I'm not done yet_ and he sighed.

There was a knock at the door and Tami hurried over to answer it. Matt and Julie were standing out in the hall, hand in hand.

"I think we're going to get on the road," Julie said, "the car is all packed, we just wanted to say goodbye to you guys." She paused. "We were actually hoping to talk to you for a quick minute."

Tami ushered them inside. "Of course you can talk to us. What's going on?"

Julie looked down at her hands and twisted her engagement ring around on her finger.

"Matt and I have something to tell you, and we just don't want you guys to get upset or freak out."

"What is it hon?" Tami asked nervously. The last time Julie had used a variation of those very words she was sleeping with her married TA and crashing cars into mailboxes. She wasn't a conclusion jumper like her husband, but Julie's delivery was making her heart race a bit.

Eric's head snapped to attention. He slowly got up off the floor and walked over to where Julie and Matt were standing with his wife. He folded his arms over his chest and cast a steely glare in Matt's direction, but remained silent, waiting for the bomb to drop.

"We've been thinking a lot about our future lately, and while I know we promised you both we'd wait, there's one big thing that makes us feel it's necessary that we get married sooner rather than later," Julie said calmly.

"You're pregnant?" Eric exploded throwing his hands up. "You want us to believe you're responsible and to trust that you're mature enough to make good decisions and now you're nineteen and twenty years old having a child? How are you going to support yourselves? You're not even done with college yet. I can't believe this!"

Tami put an arm firmly on Eric's shoulder and jerked her head over to Gracie who was quietly playing with one of her dolls on the bed where he had left her. "Jesus Eric, you need to calm down. Let Julie finish." she whispered.

Julie looked at Matt stunned, and then back to her father.

"Are you kidding me? I can't even get the words out and already you're assuming I'm doing something stupid." Her lip began to tremble. "Actually, we wanted to talk to you about getting married sooner than we had planned on, possibly next summer because Matt's grandma hasn't been doing so well lately and we want her to be there, but you know what? Maybe we'll just drive to Vegas and let an Elvis impersonator marry us. I'll be sure to send a postcard," she screamed, turning on her heel and storming out of the room slamming the door and leaving behind a flabbergasted Matt.

Tami shook her head at Eric. "You're an idiot."


	19. Chapter 19

Matt turned to go after Julie but Tami reached out and gently but firmly gripped his shoulders with her hands bringing him to a dead stop.

Tami looked her husband directly in the eye. "You better go talk to your daughter," she said.

Eric nodded and immediately reached down to pull his sneakers on.

Matt was caught off guard by the look on Coach's face. It was almost remorseful. He had known Coach Eric Taylor for years now and the only other time he had seen that look was when Coach threw him in a cold shower after he had gone off the rails junior year and had sobbed about how everyone had abandoned him. It was a memory that still made him cringe. A truly vulnerable and raw moment that he rarely let himself have, in the presence of the last person he would have wanted it to happen in front of.

After Coach had left the room, Tami turned and smiled at Matt sympathetically.

"I don't have to explain to you how he can overreact. I'm sure you know that better than anyone. Julie is truly his daughter in that way. You probably know that also."

She laughed a little and motioned over at Gracie who had miraculously fallen asleep curled up in a ball on the bed. "I'm just praying my husband mellows out a little by the time this one starts to date."

Matt laughed along with her. "I just hope she doesn't eventually try to go out with one of his football players."

"Well if he's anything like you, I think we'd be lucky."

Matt looked at her, touched but a little embarrassed. He had never been any good at accepting compliments about himself, even from Julie, the person in the world he felt the most comfortable with.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

She smiled at him warmly. "Your grandmother really did a fine job raising you. Not that you don't deserve a lot of the credit yourself. I'm sorry to hear she's not doing well."

"I love Chicago and my life there," Matt said with a twinge of guilt in his voice, "but it's hard to be so far away from Grandma, knowing that she's declining and there's nothing I can do I about it." He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at the floor.

Tami shifted into guidance counselor mode. "That must be hard for you, but you know she understands that it's important for you to live your own life. That woman loves you more than anything in the world and she just wants you to be happy."

He nodded and blinked back the emotion that seemed to come in the threat of tears almost every time he talked about his grandmother these days.

"Mrs. Taylor," Matt began, shuffling his feet uncomfortably against the carpet, "I just want you to know that our decision to get married now isn't just something we decided on a whim. I believe in our relationship and that we'll do whatever it takes to make it work."

"We're parents, and we worry. I don't want you to think the reservations we have are anything personal or a sign that we don't think your relationship is going to work," Tami said, "and you know that Coach will come around. There's no way he'd ever miss his little girl getting married."

Matt nodded in agreement, knowing deep down that it was true. No matter how much he hemmed and hawed, he knew Coach's stubbornness would never overcome his love for his kids, and really deep down he knew despite his gruff approach most of the time, that Coach loved him too.

Tami sat down on the bed and motioned for Matt to sit down next to her, which he did.

"When and where are you thinking about having the wedding?" she asked.

"Texas. We're thinking the summer, June or July if we can swing it. We figured that would be good for you guys especially with school and football being out," Matt said. "Also, I don't want you to think that we're going to have this huge wedding that we expect you pay for. We're going to keep it small and simple and not doing anything we can't afford ourselves…well really me, being Julie hasn't started working yet," he added. Julie had planned on picking up a part time job at the college the following semester now that she was settled but whatever money she made wasn't going to be substantial, so most of it was going to be on him. "Luckily getting married in Texas is much cheaper than Chicago."

"Oh honey, I appreciate that, but you know we'll help you out however we can. We don't expect you to pay for a wedding on your own."

Relief washed over Matt's face. He had been prepared to pick up the cost if he had to, but even with a small simple wedding, he knew it would likely take a huge chunk out of his savings and he really didn't want to do that.

"Thank you Mrs. Taylor."

"Promise me one thing though."

"Sure, what's that?"

"Please don't make me a grandmother for a while."

Matt didn't respond right away, but his eyes widened and his deer in headlights expression was enough to reassure Tami that there were no plans for babies in the near future.

**/**/**/**/**/

Coach found Julie down in the hotel lobby, sitting on one of the leather couches near the front desk and sniffling into a tissue. He sat down next to her as she did that thing she loved to do when she was pissed off at him, looking in the other direction and refusing to acknowledge his existence.

He plopped on the couch next to her and gently touched her shoulder but she didn't move.

"Julie…."

"What do you want dad?" Julie blew her nose and reluctantly turned around. She blinked at him, her eyes red and watery.

"If you're here to lecture me about how immature I am to want to get married at my age, I really don't want to hear it."

Eric sighed. "Julie, I'm not here to lecture you. I'm here….to say… I'm sorry."

She snorted. "You're sorry for what exactly?"

"I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. I should have never assumed what I did or had the reaction I did," he said rubbing the side of his face and leaning up against the arm of the couch. "It's just really hard to see you grow up and sometimes I just get a little crazy and irrational."

Julie sat silent for a moment, considering the validity of his apology. "And what if I was pregnant?" she asked. "Mom had me when she was barely out of college. Was that some sort of huge mistake?"

Eric shook his head. "Julie that's ridiculous. I…."

"Just answer the question dad."

"No, it wasn't a huge mistake. Was it surprise? Yes, yes it was. But it was never a mistake. I was scared as hell to be a dad, but of all the things I've done in my life, aside from marrying your mom, it was the best one."

Eric scratched his head, searching for the right words, not wanting anything else to come out wrong. "One day, in the far off future, you and Matt god willing, are going to be able to experience that. I just want it to be under the best possible circumstances." He smiled at her, a warm genuine smile, not the tight forced one he used when he was trying to patronize her or her mother to get him out of the doghouse.

His smile faded a bit. "The thing is, we were young, we didn't have a lot of money and we struggled. We stuck together and made the best of what we had, but I just don't want you to have any of the struggles we did, that's all." Eric pulled Julie close to him and kissed her forehead.

"So you're ok with us getting married this summer?" she asked.

"Look Jules, I'm going to be totally honest. I still wish you guys would wait, but I understand that these are extenuating circumstances and ultimately the decision is between you and Matt. I just want you to know that your mother and I will be there to support you no matter what. Capisce?"

She smiled. "Capisce."

Julie rested her head on his shoulder.

"I can't promise I'm not going to have a hard time giving you away though," he mumbled into her hair.


	20. Chapter 20

Tami Taylor had to admit, it felt good to be back in Texas. If you would have told her a few years ago that she'd be throwing a wedding for her daughter and Matt Saracen on a vast beautiful property in Dillon courtesy of Tim Riggins, she wouldn't have believed it, but sure enough, here they were.

The venue being one less thing they had to pay for was a huge help to the young couple, not to mention the bride's parents. They made the offer but Tim had laughed and said "don't be ridiculous." Construction on the house had been finished for a few months now, but there was still plenty of space to have a ceremony and place the huge white reception tent complete with a dance floor.

The wedding ended up being bigger than expected since they were having it in Texas, the place where all their friends and family still were, as opposed to Chicago or Philadelphia. As Tami constantly reminded Coach in those tough wallet opening moments, "we won't be doing this again for a very long time," to which his grumpy response had been, "that's one plus to having daughters that are 16 years apart."

The ladies were gathered in one of the empty bedrooms at the house which they were using as a makeshift dressing room and bridal suite. The bridesmaids and groomsmen were out doing a quick rehearsal, so it was just Tami alone with her two girls.

"You have to sit still Gracie," Tami said firmly as she attempted to tie a huge white bow around her younger daughter's head full of light blonde curls.

Gracie sat on a white folding chair and bounced up and down anxiously.

"I want to put my princess dress on NOW!" she shouted pointing to the flower girl dress hanging on a clothing rack a few feet away.

Tami was going to kill Julie for describing it as that the first time Gracie tried it on. She knew she was just trying to make her little sister feel special, but the last thing she needed was to put ideas in Gracie's already feisty and opinionated head that she was a princess.

Gracie continued to shift and fidget in the chair as Tami inhaled sharply and mustered all the patience she could in her current unnerved state.

"Grace, the quicker you let me finish this, the sooner you can put your dress on, okay?"

Gracie rolled her eyes and huffed. Tami felt queasy at the sight of the all too familiar eye roll and huff combo that Julie had made a lost art over the years. She was only four years old and Tami figured they had at least another few before the sassiness started, but clearly Gracie was ahead of schedule. Tami kept telling herself no two children were alike but she couldn't help but get the feeling she and Eric were going to be in for some major trouble by the time Gracie hit puberty, likely way before.

Tami looped the white satin fabric around Gracie's hair and pulled it into a neat little bow.

"There you go," she said, patting Gracie's shoulder. She smiled at her little girl and couldn't help thinking how it seemed like only yesterday when Julie was that small. "You look so pretty!"

After Tami finally helped Gracie into her dress, she beamed and did a little dance in the full length mirror leaning against the wall. Tami stifled a laugh. She had a diva on her hands for sure.

Julie emerged from the bathroom, looking happy and serene, the full tulle skirt of her wedding gown just barely skimming the ground as she headed towards her mother and sister. Tami knew she was biased, but she had never seen a more beautiful bride. The lace and tulle gown was simple and perfect against Julie's bronze skin. In fact, Tami and Julie had both cried when she put it on for the first time.

Gracie abandoned her dance routine in the mirror and took off towards Julie.

"You look like a PRINCESS!" she squealed. Tami shook her head and chuckled.

Julie smiled and scooped Gracie up in her arms even though she was getting entirely too big for that. The photographer who had been documenting the getting ready process, shot to attention and snapped a picture of the two sisters.

Julie lowered Gracie down and handed her a white basket full of rose petals from the big cardboard florist box containing all the wedding bouquets.

"Now you know what you have to do with these flower petals right?"

Gracie nodded and ran off to practice throwing petals in the hallway.

Julie pulled her own bouquet of light pink peonies out of the box and examined it closely. She held it out to Tami and pointed to the stem of the bouquet which was wrapped in a white satin beaded fabric.

"This is from the hat Matt's grandma wore on her wedding day."

Tami clapped her hand on her mouth, getting emotional for the hundredth time that day. "You look beautiful honey," she whispered.

"Mom, this mascara is supposed to be waterproof but I don't want to test the waters here," Julie responded, her own eyes welling up with tears.

Tami took a deep breath and tried to compose herself.

"I know…you're right. I'm just praying your dad is able to hold it together. He looked a little pale when I saw him before."

"Where is he?" Julie asked, adjusting her veil.

"He was out talking to Pastor John not too long ago. I think he's in the room where the guys are getting ready."

Julie groaned. "I hope he's not planning on some sort of Matt chat. Knowing Matt, he's probably nervous enough as it is."

Tami chuckled and rubbed Julie's arm supportively. "Don't worry honey. He'll be fine. He knows what he's getting himself into."


	21. Chapter 21

Eric splashed some cold water on his face and looked in the mirror. He knew this day would eventually come, but he had no idea it would be coming so soon and that it would feel like a Mack truck had driven over his heart. He could probably count on one hand the amount of times he had actually cried in his life; once when his father had passed away, when each of his girls were born, the day he married Tami, and the day he sustained the injury that would pretty much end his football career. Even those times were really just one step beyond tearing up and not a full out sob fest, but from the moment he woke up today, he caught himself getting emotional at random moments and he hadn't even seen Julie yet.

Eric wiped his face on the hand towel hanging on a hook on the wall in the bathroom and straightened his tie as he strolled down the hall to the room where the guys were getting ready. He heard the commotion before he even twisted the knob to enter the room, and when he did, he had to laugh at the scene playing out in front of him. He might as well have walked into the Panthers locker room circa 2007.

Not at all surprisingly, Smash was admiring himself in front of a full length mirror. He had flown in from A&M, late the night before, ceremoniously waking Matt, Tim and Landry out of bed so they could go out and throw the ball around like a bunch of idiots in the dark. Landry was attempting to help Matt tie his bow tie via an instructional YouTube video but horribly fumbling it, causing Matt to slap his hands and insist that he'd do it himself. Tim was expertly pouring Jack Daniel's into a row of shot glasses, and the only non-Panther, Jake, a close friend of Matt's from art school was looking on with some serious amusement.

"Way to get after it gentlemen!" Coach Taylor called out, announcing his presence.

Smash turned around and did a little mock end zone victory dance before rushing over to give his mentor a manly chest bump and hug combo. After the men broke apart, Eric crossed his arms across his chest.

"I see you've been getting some good playing time lately, yeah?"

Smash nodded animatedly. "Our running back is about to graduate so it looks like Smash is about to become prime time!"

Eric nodded his approval. "You better not embarrass me."

Smash puffed out his chest and grinned, that huge wide smile.

"No way, Coach. You know me better than that. I'm going straight to the top. Records are about to get shattered!"

"Hey Smash!" Landry shouted from across the room. "When you're done making love to yourself, you think you could come over here and help me dress Matty boy?"

Matt had managed to get his tie on but was now struggling with his cufflinks.

"I'm fine, I've got it," he mumbled, shooting a disgusted look in Landry's direction as one of the cufflinks fell out of his hand and rolled across the hardwood floor.

Landry snorted. "Yeah Matt, you've clearly got it, with your hands shaking like that."

Eric crossed the room and approached his soon to be son-in-law. Clearly Tim hadn't gotten around to furnishing the extra bedrooms yet, as the guest room contained only a large beat up couch, overstuffed arm chair and a card table with some chairs around it.

"Let me help you with that son," Eric said taking the cufflinks out of Matt's hand and began inserting them into his shirt sleeves.

"Hey Seven, I know what'll relax you," Tim said, holding up the bottle of Jack Daniels. "What do you say fellas? Celebratory shots for everyone!"

Normally Eric would have made a comment about underage drinking considering nobody in that room except for him was twenty-one yet, but he needed the whiskey as much as Matt did.

Everyone gathered around as Tim handed out the shots.

Tim jumped on the couch and raised his shot glass.

"To our boy Seven," he began thoughtfully. "Hopefully this alcohol will dull the pain of the trip you're about to take over to the dark side."

The guys all hooted and laughed in unison, but Tim put his free hand up to silence them. His face turned serious."All jokes aside, you're a lucky man. You've got the love and support of a good woman for the rest of your life and that is really something special. Congratulations. Here's to Mr. & Mrs. Saracen and a long and happy life together. "

Tim jumped down from the couch and the men knocked their shots together to a chorus of "cheers" before downing them.

Minutes later, the wedding coordinator came to collect the groomsmen for a quick run through of the Matt could exit the room, Coach called after him, just like he had done a million times before in the locker room.

Matt stopped short and swiveled around. "Yeah Coach?"

Eric ran a hand over his hair and noticed his scalp felt extra sensitive today. He wondered if anyone would notice if he took another shot of whiskey. "I was hoping I could talk to you a second before the wedding starts."

Matt sighed. "Look Coach, I'm pretty nervous…I don't know if I'm up for any big talks or lectures or…."

Eric put a hand on Matt's shoulder and squeezed it. "Son, I'm not here to give you a lecture."

Matt looked up at him with that slow burn stare, a mix of nervousness and hopefulness.

He took a deep breath as he was starting to get emotional again. There was no way he was going to cry in front of Matt Saracen.

"I just wanted to tell you, that I trust you to take care of my little girl. I always have. But today, I feel like that's more important than ever that I tell you that. We're proud to have you as part of this family."

Matt looked at Coach stunned, but recovered quickly and extended his hand out to Eric who grabbed it and shook it tightly.

"And remember Matt. Not only in football, but in life...Clear eyes, Full hearts…"

Matt grinned. "Can't lose."


	22. Chapter 22

Authors Note: **Major sap alert**

After Matt was gone, Eric glanced over at the half empty bottle of Jack Daniels sitting innocently on the card table where Tim had left it. He peered out the doorway to make sure the coast was clear and hurried over and grabbed the bottle. He was pouring himself a shot when he heard the familiar trill of his wife's voice.

"Coach Eric Taylor. What do you think you're doing?"

Tami was standing in the doorway, hands on hips. She had chosen a strapless deep blue chiffon number that was just sexy enough to reflect her style without being inappropriate as a mother of the bride ensemble.

He gave her a boyish smile and proudly sauntered towards her. "What do you think you're doing looking so smoking hot?"

She laughed and closed the door behind her. "Don't try and change the subject Eric. Our daughter is getting married in ten minutes and you're in here by yourself getting drunk?"

"First of all, I'm not getting drunk." Eric insisted. "I had one shot. To take the edge off."

"Hmm babe," Tami raised an eyebrow and pointed at the overflowing shot glass still sitting on the table. "Looks like you were about to go for two there."

"You know I love a good football pun," he said, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and pulling her close. They remained in each others arms for a moment until he broke away to look at her again.

"You really look stunning, you know that?" he said, taking her hand and stepping back to admire her. "The hottest mother of the bride I've ever seen."

"Mother of the bride," Tami repeated as if she couldn't believe it. "You know what comes after that, right?" She groaned. "Grandma."

Eric swallowed thickly and let out a nervous laugh. "Are you trying to kill me here? Let's deal with one thing at a time."

"You're right babe." Tami placed her hands on Eric's face and kissed him tenderly on the lips. "Just wait until you see Julie. You think you can hold it together?"

"Probably not, but I'm going to try my best," he said.

"How's Matt doing?" Tami asked.

"Jumpy as hell." Eric laughed remembering how nervous he had been on his own wedding day. "He'll be a'ight though. I gave him some words of encouragement and pearls of wisdom to get him through."

Tami looked concerned. "You gave Matt Saracen pearls of wisdom?"

"Yes. I did."

"What'd you say honey?"

"You'd like to know wouldn't you?" Eric raised his eyebrows mischievously and leaned in to kiss **her** this time, soft and slow. "That's between Matt and me. Man to man."

She smiled and patted his back. "Hon, I've got to get out there and make sure everything is in order. Why don't you go see your daughter and keep her company until the ceremony starts?"

Tami pulled some Kleenex out of her purse and handed it to Eric. "Just in case," she said with a wink.

/**/**/

Tami had been smart to give him the Kleenex because the second he set his eyes on his little girl, looking so grown up, so beautiful and so much like her mother, he had to blink back some serious tears.

Part of him had a hard time dealing with the fact that Julie was growing up so fast, getting married and settling down so young, but the other part of him was proud. Proud that his daughter, despite some immature behavior and missteps, had picked herself up, dusted herself off and was taking the initiative to make her own decisions and choose a life that made her truly happy.

"Hi dad," she said shyly when he entered the room. She turned around to face him so he could get the full effect. "What do you think?"

He took her in for a minute and then leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "You're beautiful. That's what I think."

The room was quiet for a moment as neither of them seemed to know what to say until Julie decided to break the silence.

"Thank you for being such a great dad," she said quietly. "I hope one day, my kids will love me as much as I love you and mom."

Eric responded by wrapping his arms around Julie and pulling her in for a hug, partly because he felt compelled to, and partly because he felt the need to hide his emotion.

"I love you too Monkey Noodle," he whispered, holding on to her tight, tears pricking his eyes, threatening to fall at any moment. "I hope you know that even once you're married, even when you have kids of your own, even when you're forty years old, I'm never going to stop calling you that."

"I'm okay with it," Julie said smiling.

"Also, can I get the statement about us being great parents in writing so I can show it to Gracie when she hits her teenage years?" Eric asked.

"Well I hope you don't need it." Julie said. "Maybe Gracie will be easier on you than I was. But probably not."

They shared a laugh over that and then stood around continuing to talk for a while about various topics until the wedding coordinator came to claim them, letting them know it was time to get the show on the road.

As they walked out into the hall, Eric reached for his daughter's hand and she laced her fingers through his. "You ready?" he asked.


	23. Chapter 23

Eric and Tami were back at their hotel, sharing a drink at the bar and rehashing the details of the beautiful but emotionally taxing day. Shelley had taken Gracie back halfway through the reception when she had started to get cranky and offered to keep her through the night so Eric and Tami could enjoy the remainder of their daughter's wedding. As much as Shelley drove them crazy, Eric and Tami appreciated her willingness to always lend a hand with no complaints when it came to her nieces. Of course, it also helped that she was in between boyfriends and had come to the wedding solo.

Eric Taylor drained the remainder of his glass of scotch and set it back down on the bar. He had lost count of how much alcohol he had consumed over the past few hours. It was definitely a good amount, but it must have been at a good pace since he didn't feel at all drunk, just a mixture of sad, happy and completely exhausted.

He somehow managed to make it through the ceremony, through his toast (which was short and sweet) and through the father daughter dance without completely losing it. Just barely. The emotion thankfully had been offset by some comedy relief which included post-ceremony, Gracie trying to pick up every single rose petal she had dropped in the grass. There was Landry's best-man toast, which was the perfect mix of funny and heartfelt and ended with a surprise slideshow, featuring many embarrassing pictures from him and Matt's childhood. Last but certainly not last least was Buddy Garrity grinding with Angela Colette on the dance floor complete with ass grabbing and inappropriate groping.

Tami picked up her glass and sipped the rest of her white wine slowly.

"This is the last one for me sugar. I'm beat, I think I could fall asleep right here."

Eric draped his arm over his wife's shoulder and smiled. "I was thinking we could go upstairs and help each other through this emotional time."

Tami raised an eyebrow and let out a tired chuckle. "Oh do you now?"

He nodded. "I'm feeling very emotionally distressed. You know, having to give away my first born daughter and all. I think I might need a distraction."

"You're terrible. Using our daughter as an excuse to get some? Ew." She laughed, but seemed to consider it for a minute. "Possibly. It depends on how convincing you are." She ran a hand down his tie which was loosened around his neck. "You know, you do look pretty hot in a tux."

"Is that a yes?" he asked.

She didn't answer him, but her mischievous smirk told him all he needed to know.

Eric signaled to the bartender. "Check please."

**/**/**/

"Mr. Saracen, where are you taking me?" Julie asked curiously as the car made its way down the road in the dark.

"You'll see." Matt gripped the steering wheel with one hand and held Julie's with the other, staring straight ahead smiling, "Mrs. Saracen."

Julie grinned at the mention of her new last name and looked down at her wedding band sitting snugly underneath her engagement ring. After the reception was over and everyone had cleared out, they changed into comfortable clothes and Julie thought they were heading back to the Saracen house but Matt had insisted he wanted to take her somewhere first. Obviously Matt's childhood bedroom with his grandmother and her in-home care nurse right next door wasn't the most romantic place to spend their first night as husband and wife, but they were leaving early the next day for their honeymoon and Matt wanted to spend some more time with his grandmother before they headed to the airport. Originally, they had decided to forgo a honeymoon altogether and just save up for a big trip to Europe for the following summer, but Matt's mom had wanted to do something special for the newlyweds and insisted they needed some time to themselves after the craziness of the last couple of months, so she had gifted them with a short little getaway to a resort in Mexico.

Matt turned on to the dirt road and cut the lights and ignition. He looked at Julie. "You know where we are now?"

She squinted. It was pitch black but it was easy to see the flecks of light from the moon reflecting off the lake. Julie's face lit up. "You brought me to the lake?"

Matt nodded and leaned back against his seat. "I know you like to mock me about this being a special spot, but it is. I figured we won't be back in Dillon for a while so it might be nice to come here. Just enjoy some alone time after today."

Julie leaned over the console and kissed him softly on the lips. "I think my husband is pretty sweet," she said.

"I like the sound of that," He whispered back, touching his forehead to hers and nuzzling her nose.

**/**/**/

Once they had a fire going, Julie spread out the blanket Matt had brought along and they stretched out on their backs, talking every so often, but mostly looking at the stars and just enjoying the peace and quiet.

"I have to ask you something," Julie said with a coy smile. "When you brought me here that day, did you plan for something to happen?"

Matt grinned and stared up at the sky. "I'm actually surprised that hasn't come up till now. I knew what I wanted, but I certainly didn't expect it." He rolled on his side and pulled her to him, burying his face in her hair.

"That is such a Matt thing to say," she teased, nudging him in the ribs. "Just admit you were trying to seduce me."

"I don't know about that, you were the one strutting around in that bikini all day, splashing me in the lake, giving me those hot and heavy looks, waxing poetic about veggie hot dogs…."

Julie giggled. "Okay, maybe we'll call it even."

"I'm not glad we had tough times, but they definitely made me appreciate where we are now," Matt said.

"Thanks for not giving up on me." Julie said softly. She slid a hand under Matt's white undershirt and gripped his skin, pulling him as close to her as she could get, but it still somehow didn't seem close enough.

Matt stroked her cheek. "I could say the same to you."

**THE END**

Authors note: Thanks to everyone for reading/commenting on my first fic. The feedback is really encouraging!

I'm hard at work on my next one already…should hopefully be up in the next day or two


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